Worcester Polytechnic Institute Athletic Fields and Garage

SMMA teamed with Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in a rare opportunity to transform a raised athletic field and parking garage into a unified, multi-functional design. The project demanded ingenuity: a design that maximizes space usage while remaining thoughtful, attractive, and sustainable. On completion, this distinctive rooftop athletic field became the first of its kind in Massachusetts.

The final product features a synthetic turf field atop a 525-car garage.

The design team created a visually appealing structure that blends seamlessly into the lush, green landscape of WPI’s campus. The design leverages the existing topography to minimize the impact of parking on the campus and the surrounding neighborhood.

The project earned a Green Garage Certification, in part by reducing heat island effect.

The drop-off area has become a primary campus entrance for visitors and staff.

Many of the structure’s most innovative features are hidden.

The field must drain quickly in a rainstorm, but the garage must remain dry. To solve this, the team coordinated the storm drainage system to ensure that the garage stays unaffected by adverse weather and no pooling occurs at field level.

The new facility includes on-field drinking fountains, bottle-fillers, and discreet sanitary plumbing vent termination points. It boasts visiting team lockers, concession areas, and field equipment storage for the adjacent competition fields.

"The benefit of accommodating parking and multiple sports fields and support spaces under a common footprint has been invaluable to the University’s sustainability and development."

Alfredo DiMauro, Assoc. AIA, Assistant Vice President, Office of Facilities

The single story, 660 by 250 feet precast structure features a brick façade.

WPI’s new venue can accommodate 300 spectators. New stairs and elevators improve accessibility between the parking garage and fields.

Field lighting allows for evening games, while perimeter netting provides containment for stray balls.

“The idea of conceiving the project in section, the layering of programmatic requirements of the existing fields and expanding campus parking, and how the resulting architecture is integrated with the campus community’s brick of the old and the modernity of the new deserves special recognition.”

Design Awards Jury, AIA Central Massachusetts